When a Case Gets Tough
by hettylange
Summary: It had been a tough case as the team was in more danger than usual. Nell was getting really worried but luckily Eric was there to comfort her. Neric [COMPLETE]


**A/N I wrote this at 2 am so ignore the many possible errors there are. If you do spot an error please tell me so I can fix it thanks! Also I really enjoyed writing this so if you like it give it reviews and maybe I'll write more? ;)**

**I don't own the show or any of the characters **

It started out when a case went all wrong. There was group of elite terrorists made up of many men who had all been caught by NCIS in the past. It was time for them to get their revenge. During this case the men were going to do everything in their power to destroy the NCIS team who had defeated them. With Kensi missing, Deeks with a nearly broken ankle, Sam and Callen on the run following leads on the terrorists, Nell could hardly take it anymore. She wanted her friends to be home safe, she wanted to quit her job because she couldn't bear to see her friends, who were more like a family, get hurt, she wanted to get away.

"I can't do this anymore" Nell said barely holding back the tears. "I can't handle all this pain and suffering, watching our friends facing near death everyday" She was close to breaking down in OPS, but she was lucky she had Eric there to help her through this.

"Hey Nell look at me" Eric hated seeing her upset, her smile made her so perfect and when she smiled the whole world smiled back. He would never say it out loud but she was the reason he came into work most days. After his time working with her you could say that he developed a bit of a crush on her. Nell lifted her head slowly, trying not to let Eric see the tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "We are going to stop the terrorists, we've fought worse. The team will be home safe and sound, there is nothing to worry about" Eric did everything in his power to cheer Nell up, although he had to admit he was terrified as well.

"You're right I'm just worried you know? This job really takes its toll sometimes" Nell sighed, while still fighting back the tears. Her hair was messy from running her hand through it, with strands falling down onto her cheek.

"I know, but we'll get through this we always do" Eric said brushing the hair away from her eyes. A small smile grew on Nell's face, seeing this Eric pulled her into a tight hug. The hug was warm and comforting, Nell felt safe in his arms, and suddenly all her worries were gone.

"I Know" She mumbled into his chest.

* * *

It was well after midnight before Nell made her way home, she made her way up to her apartment fumbling with her keys. She finally unlocked the door and threw her bag on the floor, too tired to care where it landed. Nell was exhausted and craved sleep more than anything, so she quickly cleaned up and went to bed.

_Kensi was running in seemingly slow motion, heart pounding. Deeks froze, like he was glued to the surface of the Earth. Sam and Callen keeping watch from above. Large men in suits were chasing after them, when suddenly bullets start flying. Everything is chaos, noises indescribably loud, lights flashing, and then it stops. The entire team is dead on the ground._

Nell wakes up dripping with sweat. _It was just a dream_ she tells herself, _the team is safe it was just a dream_. She takes a moment to collect herself. She grabs her phone, its 2 am, but she knows she's not getting back to sleep. Not now. She calls the one person she knows she can trust.

"Hey, I know it's late but I can't sleep, would you maybe want to come over?" She asks unsure of how he will answer.

"Yes" his answer was short "Be there in ten minutes" and the phone clicked off.

It was exactly ten minutes when she hears a knock on her door. She doesn't bother looking out the peep hole because she knows its Eric. Lazily she clicks open the lock and opens the door letting him inside.

"Hey" Eric wearing a concerned expression.

"Hey" she sighs.

They make their way over to the couch Nell leading the way. Eric pulls the blanket off the back of the couch as they sit down, and he wraps it around the both of them, as he's done many nights before. Whenever one was having a rough night they would call the other and they always came to sit and talk, no matter the time of night. They sit in silence for a while; Eric knows that Nell will talk when she's ready.

"It was a nightmare" Nell whispered after some time. Eric pulled her in closer her head resting on his chest.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Eric didn't want to pry too much, he didn't want to cause her anymore stress.

"No, I think I'm okay now, now that you're here" He could feel Nell's lips curl into a smile on his chest, which, of course, made him smile. He kissed the top of her head, paying no attention to the sweat that still laced the strands of her hair.

"Thanks for coming Eric" Nell turned to look at him.

"You're welcome Nell" Eric wasn't sure how it happened but suddenly her lips were on his, and she was kissing him. He was tense at first, but it was long until he was kissing her back. The kiss was tender and loving, better than anything he could have imagined, and he's definitely imagined kissing Nell. If he didn't know any better he would have sworn he saw a spark. The kissing didn't stop, no in fact it went much farther than a kiss that night, and I think both would agree it was the best night they ever had.

* * *

The next morning when Nell woke up her mind was dizzy. It only took a few seconds before she remembered what had happened. She was on the couch with her partner Eric, where, when the night ended, they had fallen asleep. She was sure she had clothes on earlier, and it took her a minute to find them again. Her pants were strewn on the floor and her shirt over the back of the couch. She quietly got up without waking up Eric, but a few short minutes he was woken by the sound of his phone beeping.

"Umm Nell?" Eric asked quietly trying not to startle her.

"I'm in the kitchen" she replied. Eric got up and threw on his pants, and decided to put on his t-shirt just to be safe, and made his way over to Nell.

"Good morning" Eric smiled hugging Nell from behind. This made Nell tense up, Eric sensing this he let his arms drop to his side.

"Eric, I think we should talk about last night" Nell said looking down at the ground purposely avoiding his eyes.

"Okay" Eric took a step back to give Nell her space.

"I think last night was a mistake, I was tired and stressed and I don't want this to ruin anything, I think we should forget it happened and just stay friends" Nell blurted out so fast Eric had to pause to be sure he heard her correctly. When he realized what she was saying it was as if his heart literally broke. She didn't want to be with him, not now, probably not ever.

"It's okay I understand, we stay friends" Eric smiled although this was killing him inside, he wanted to be there for Nell and he wanted her as more than just a friend, but if it wasn't something she wanted too, he was going to respect her decision.

They continued on with their friendship and in a few weeks they closed the case and their team were back safe and sound, just like Eric said they would be.

* * *

Nell was sure that it was that time of the month, according to her calendar she should have started her cycle today. _But I haven't done anything _she thought, but then it hit her _Eric._ She rushed down to the corner store as quickly as she could and picked up three pregnancy tests just to be safe. When she got back to her apartment she ripped open the box and pulled out the stick and made her way over to the washroom. She waited ten minutes like the box said but, still hesitated looking at the test for a while. _What's done is done_ she told herself, she picked up the test and saw a tiny pink plus sign. She was pregnant and Eric Beale, her partner, was the father.

She wanted to wait until the end of the day before she told him, but he knew something was up as soon as she came into work.

"Hey is everything alright?" Eric asked.

"Yeah I'm fine" Nell brushed him off, she wanted to be 100% sure she was pregnant, before she said anything. She took the other two tests, one at lunch, the other near the end of the day, both came back positive. She was glad the team was out in the field all day, especially Kensi. Nell knew she wouldn't be able to hid this from her. It was now the end of the day, everyone had already left, and it was just Nell and Eric left up in OPS powering down all the electronics.

"Hey Eric" Nell was thinking of all the different ways he could react to the news she was about to tell him, all ending badly.

"Yeah Nell" Eric was focused on his computer.

"I have to tell you something" This pulled Eric's attention away from his screen, and he made his way over to her.

"Okay" Nell sighed "This is hard for me to say, so I'm just going to spit it out" Nell said hesitation ringing through her voice.

"You can tell me anything Nell you know that" Eric smiled grabbing her small hands and intertwining them with his.

"I'm pregnant, and you're the father" She blurted. Eric's face went blank "But you don't have to be involved if you don't want, I can find a new job if you want, I won't ask for child support money or anything you don't-" Nell was cut off by Eric's lips hitting hers. Nell swears that if he wasn't holding her hands she would have collapsed on the floor. This kiss had been more powerful than their first, it was bursting with passion and longing, she wondered why she didn't kiss him more. It wasn't until their lungs were empty and they remembered that they needed to breathe, that their lips split. Nell stood in shock, out of all the outcomes she imagined that was not one of them. She looked up at Eric who was smiling like a small child, a child like the one she was going to have.

"Nell I'm going to be with you every step of the way, I want to be a father to our child, and I know you will be the best mother in the world." Eric was filled with a sense of joy; he never thought he would be a father, not in his field of work. Now he was going to be a father, and who better to be the mother than his best friend, the woman he had a crush on. Nell smiled as relief rushed through her; she wasn't going to have to do this alone.

* * *

After Nell had told Eric the news he wanted to give them a chance. He took her out on a date, and she'd be lying if she said it wasn't the best date she had ever been on. Since their first date went so well they decided to go on another, and another, until a few short weeks later they made their relationship official. Eric had been honest in saying he was going to be there every step of the way, as he hadn't left Nell's side yet.

"We need a house" Eric thought out loud as they were sitting on the couch watching a movie.

"Sorry?" Nell unsure of what he meant.

"We need a house, me, you, and the baby" As he said this he leaned down and kissed Nell's belly. Although she was 7 months pregnant she was still pretty tiny.

"You think so?" she teased.

"Yes I do. I want our child to grow up in a home, with a backyard where we can have a swing set, and a basement filled with toys" Eric's face glowing with excitement over the thought of raising a child. Nell giggled as she watched her boyfriend drool over his own words; she lifted her head and pecked a kiss on his cheek. "I'm serious, I've been saving up money for a while now and I want to spend it on giving you and our child a perfect home" By this point both of them could barely contain their excitement. Eric was in a relationship with the woman he had had a crush on for so long, she was carrying his baby, and now they were going to live together.

* * *

It was Nell's final ultrasound and their last chance to find out the gender of their child. Eric took Nell to the doctors and held her hand as the nurse covered her belly in the blue gel needed for the ultrasound. It was cold on her stomach but Nell had Eric to hold her tight and keep her warm. As the nurse moved the remote like object across Nell's skin, they gave their attention to the large screen in front of them.

"It's beautiful" Nell whispered quietly. Eric smiled at her and placed a light kiss to her forehead.

"Would you like to know the gender so you can stop referring to your child as 'it'" The nurse chuckled

"Yes" Eric blurted without waiting for an answer from Nell. She gave him a light punch to the shoulder because of this and he looked at her with that smiled that made her melt. The nurse took a moment to observe the screen.

"Congratulations, you are having a baby girl" The nurse smiled, as she made her way out of the room to give the couple a minute alone.

"We are having a girl" Nell smiled a smile so large it reached her eyes.

"We are having a girl" Eric repeated Nell's exact words.

The two of them sat alone in the room for what seems like an eternity. It felt so nice to sit with Eric's arms wrapped around her knowing they were going to have a little girl, together.

* * *

Somehow the couple managed to move into a new house with time to spare. It was a three bedroom house, with a kitchen and living room on the main floor and a large basement that had been littered with gifts from Nell's baby shower. The baby was nearly ready to arrive, but Eric wanted them to have one more date night just the two of them.

It was a Saturday evening and Eric had the whole night planned. He had set up a night candle lit dinner for two, at their new house. He prepared lasagna for dinner as well as apple pie for dessert. The evening was going perfectly just as planned.

"So how do you like the lasagna?" Eric asked knowing that the pregnancy was throwing off her taste buds.

"It's the best lasagna I have ever had" She smiled giving Eric the reassurance, in his cooking, he needed. Eric was going to do something he wanted to do for a while now and he crossed his fingers that it would go well.

"Nell, I have never met anyone as perfect as you." Eric confessed "You are brilliant and I know you will make a perfect mother. I'm pretty sure that I have loved you since the first time I met you, even if I didn't realize it. Even when you finished my sentences I knew we were meant to be" Eric reached into his suit jacket, pulled out a little blue box and clicked it open to reveal a beautiful diamond ring. "Nell Jones will you marry me?" Eric's face carried the biggest smile she had ever seen, and she was filled with joy.

"Yes" one simple word was all she could manage to say. Eric slipped the ring on her slim finger and pulled her into a kiss, when suddenly he felt her tense up. He pulled away.

"What is it Nell?" he asked filled with worry that she was already having second thoughts.

"My water just broke"

* * *

Nell had been in labor for 13 hours, and she swears it was the longest 13 hours of her life. However Eric had been really understanding of Nell's pain and would do everything she asked for, which made time go by faster. When she wanted water, a magazine or just a hand to hold he was there. Eventually the contractions got closer together and more intense, until finally it was time.

After what seemed like an eternity of Nell screaming and crushing Eric's hand they were presented with a lovely baby girl. Of course, by this point, both of them had tears streaming down their face, as the doctor handed Nell her little girl.

"She's beautiful, just like her mom" Eric smiled not even trying to hold back his excitement. Nell was speechless she couldn't believe it, not just their baby all of it. She couldn't believe how when they first started working together she swore she hated him. How they slowly became best friends. She couldn't believe that they could trust each other so honestly, and that he was there whenever she needed him. She was so happy that what started out as one night of nightmares and comfort, ended in the most perfect life. She has a life with a beautiful little girl, a wonderful husband who loved her more than she would ever know, and a house that fit them all so perfectly.

"So do you have a name picked out?" The doctor asked. Nell and Eric looked at each other, both knowing what they decided to name their little girl. Nell smiled at Eric as if to allow him to say their babies name first.

"Annie, Annie Beale"

* * *

Nell and Eric got married a year after the birth of Annie. They spent a lot of time on the beach surfing and making sand castles. Annie grew up to be a beautiful young women, who was just as intelligent (and sassy) as her mother. Both Eric and Nell continued to work for NCIS, but this time when cases got bad and nightmares came about they wouldn't have to reach for the phone for comfort, they could simply reach over to the other side of the bed.

**A/N hope you enjoyed it. Give me reviews and I will love you forever :)**


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